"...And those are the seven representative first-circle spells of the seven elemental branches. Make sure you memorize the incantations, as well as the mana circuits used to cast them."
Colette stood by the blackboard that had been dragged out onto the training field and spoke with complete seriousness, her staff pointing at it.
The board was already covered in mana circuit diagrams, one for each of the seven first-circle elemental spells.
Because of the powerful display Colette had put on earlier, the students were now thoroughly convinced by her. Everyone listened with real attention. Even the unreliable impression she had given at first had somehow transformed into what now felt more like a quirky personality.
"Even though in the end you only need to master one spell to pass, learning the basics of all seven will only help you, never hurt you. So do your best. And just so you know, this is also the main goal for your magic studies this school year. As long as you can master one of these spells before the end of the year, you’ll pass your magic class."
She said it with a smile.
To most of the students, it sounded like a nightmare.
"Huh? There’s an evaluation too?"
"Ahh, I hate tests like that."
"Ms. Colette, can’t you just not test us?"
Quite a few students started groaning.
"Nope. Even if you beg me, I can’t. Those are the official rules."
That only made the collective suffering worse.
"Ms. Colette," one student asked with a raised hand, "if we only need to master one spell, then is there no way to directly check what our magical affinity is? Wouldn’t that save a lot of time?"
"Oh. Right. There’s that."
Everyone looked at Colette again.
"Mmm... I’d love to tell you that yes, there is in fact a way to determine a person’s magical affinities, and even the strength of their talent..."
Her answer came with hesitation.
"Really? So there is a way."
For a moment, everyone brightened.
Then Colette immediately dumped cold water over that hope.
"But unfortunately, it’s not something that can be widely used."
"Huh? Why not? If the method exists, then why can’t people use it?"
The students were disappointed, but also confused.
Colette explained, "The main reason is that the magical artifacts used to measure talent were excavated from certain special ancient ruins. They’re extremely rare and incredibly valuable. Most of the time, they’re kept under royal protection in the capital, and unless there’s a very specific reason, they’re never taken out."
"And on top of that, the techniques behind them belong to ancient magic that’s been lost. With the knowledge we have today, there’s no way to reproduce them. So there’s really no practical way to spread that kind of testing."
"Oh..."
A wave of disappointment passed through the group.
Lost ancient magic techniques?
The phrase caught Shulim’s attention, and she found herself thinking.
Semirys definitely knows how those worked. She can even use that kind of magic directly without relying on any artifact at all...
The thought had barely formed before Shulim shook her head.
Even if Semirys had that knowledge, Shulim would never ask her to do something like that. It simply was not in Shulim’s nature.
And besides, did Semirys not already know that so much ancient magic had been lost from the world below?
Of course she knew.
But if she knew and still had chosen not to interfere, then there had to be a reason.
And more than that, if anyone understood the world best, it would be the Six Gods of Tiramshuin.
To say the Six Gods did not care about the mortal world would be nonsense. They had protected the whole world from beginning to end, and the mortal realm was the foundation of everything. If even the Six Gods had chosen not to act on this matter, then the only reasonable conclusion was that interfering carelessly must carry consequences most people simply had not noticed.
"All right, all right, don’t get too discouraged," Colette said, drawing the students back. "Like I told you earlier, if you want to go far on the path of magic, learning the foundations of all elemental branches is incredibly useful."
"This is the stage where you build your groundwork. The stronger your foundation, the smoother your path will be later. The other six branches may seem irrelevant to you right now, but magic is connected. Understanding other branches helps you make connections, and that deepens your understanding of your own."
That explanation was enough, at least for now, to make the students accept that they really did need to memorize the first-circle spells of all seven branches.
"Good. Looks like everyone understands. Since we still have time today, start trying out these seven spells and see whether you can sense mana particles. If there’s anything you don’t understand about the magic itself, you can ask me at any time."
"Oh, and for those of you who already know magic, you can practice on your own for now. But if you have questions, you can still ask me too."
"Ms. Colette, I have a question. I don’t really understand this mana circuit."
"Which part? Let me see. Ah, this one. It flows like this..."
"Ms. Colette, I have a question too. Are there any special requirements for how the syllables in the incantation are pronounced?"
"Not really. In fact, there can’t be. Everyone’s body is different, so even the same incantation will come out slightly differently depending on who’s casting it. That’s something you have to learn by feel over time..."
"Ms. Colette, I have a question."
"Ms. Colette, me too."
"Ms. Colette..."
Watching Colette move back and forth through the students, answering question after question, Shulim suddenly realized the difference between her and Semirys.
Semirys stood at the peak of magic itself, at a point where she grasped its very essence.
Someone like Colette, meanwhile, had a different kind of skill. She knew how to draw from the vast storehouse of magical knowledge and offer students exactly the amount they were capable of absorbing.
Any real body of knowledge, at its core, was bound to be incredibly deep.
A beginner could never absorb all of that at once.
That was why knowledge had to be divided into levels, basic, intermediate, advanced, and beyond, so that even a novice could gradually work their way toward the heart of it.
The spells Semirys had taught her were probably the most complete and perfect versions of those spells anywhere in the world.
But teaching was not Semirys’s true strength. She did not really have the ability to take that depth and pass it directly into someone else in a form they could easily absorb.
So most of the time, when Semirys taught her magic, Shulim had been forced to rely on her own talent and intuition to piece it together.
As for how close the spell she learned was to the spell’s true and complete form, that was hard to say.
Still, Semirys had told her more than once that her talent was exceptional, so presumably the magic she used was not too far off the real thing.
At that thought, Shulim realized this might actually be a good opportunity.
If she asked Colette a few questions, maybe she could get a clearer sense of what a proper standard looked like.
So she raised her hand too.
"Ms. Colette, I have something I’d like to ask..."
...
Before long, school was over.
Just before dismissing the class, Colette said, "If you want to learn a particular kind of magic, it’ll be easier if you practice in an environment that matches it. So after school, you can try looking for places like that."
As expected of a professional.
That had only dawned on Shulim in the past because Lilia pointed it out to her, but for Colette it was simply standard teaching practice.
Shulim could not help feeling impressed.
The students gradually dispersed and began heading for the school gates.
"Shulim, wait a moment."
Hearing the voice behind her, Shulim stopped and turned around.
Colette was standing there with her staff in her arms.
"Ms. Colette? Did you need something?"
"Well... calling it something important might be a little much, but do you have a moment?"
"If it won’t take too long, then yes."
"That’s perfect. Don’t worry, it won’t."
Shulim followed Colette to the teachers’ lounge, where no one would disturb them.
"Ms. Colette, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Shulim asked once they were inside.
"Before that, may I ask you something first? It wasn’t really the kind of thing I could ask in front of the whole class."
"A question? That’s fine. I’m curious what you want to ask."
"Oh, Shulim, you’re so easy to talk to. That’s a relief."
Colette smiled, then her tone shifted slightly.
"Then... tell me this."
She looked directly at Shulim.
"What exactly is Orubet Hayeral to you?"